Setubal is a nice altenative to Lisbon when it comes to watching Portuguese football. And Setubal is less than an hours drive from Lisbon. Setubal is also where Jose Mourinho grew up.

Vitoria Setubal is probably not the most successful football club in Portugal, but it’s a real working class club with a nice group of fans. I am there on a Wednesday afternoon to see a League cup game in the middle of the afternoon, when most people are still at work, so the crowd is much smaller than usual, but the atmosphere is good.

Ticket booth at the stadium in Setubal.

Setubal has a rough edge.

Streets of Setubal.

Setubal is a big industrial city, just south of Lisbon. It’s home to a big harbour and some industry. There are not so many jobs for high skilled people though and it’s one of the places in Portugal with the lowest income. But I like that rough edge you have there though. And football being a working class sport in Europe, is much more fun to watch in these towns, where the clubs exist because of support from the locals and not because of some billionaire who buys the club. Football in Setubal is still a working class thing.

The harbour in Setubal.

Setubal is really pleasant down by the harbour though and I would recommend that you pop down there and eat at one of the many good fish restaurants in Setubal if you are in town anyway.

The stadium in Setubal.

Jose Mourinho grew up in Setubal.

World famous football coach, Jose Mourinho, grew up in Setubal. He was not a working class kid though, like most other kids in Setubal. His father was the goalkeeper of Vitoria Setubal and also played a little for the national team. Because he was a sports star, he ended up marrying in to one of the wealthy families around Setubal. The company that build the football stadium in Setubal was actually owned by Jose Mourinho’s uncle.

Jose Mourinho’s family was also supporting the Salazar dictatorship though. Many wealthy Portuguese families did that and so did the family of Jose Mourinho. After the carnation revolution in 1974, the Mourinho family had all their property confiscated except for one house they could live in and my theory is that this has impacted Jose Mourinho quite a bit. Whenever I see him getting all angry about people and endlessly telling everyone that the world is against him if his team does not win, probably comes from Jose Mourinho having watched his family lose most of their property and wealth as a kid. And being a kid he has of course only seen this as injustice.

Statue of Jacinto Joao, who was one of the best players Setubal ever had and a guy who spend his whole career in Setubal.

It’s cheap to watch football in Setubal.

The nice old stadium in Setubal is right in the center of town and only 5 minutes walk from the train station, if you come to Setubal by train from Lisbon. When I was there to watch a league Cup game against Santa Cruz from the Azores, I only paid 5€ for a ticket. But that is a little more if it’s a bigger game. Prices are low in Setubal though, as it’s low income people who live there who can’t afford to go if prices are too high. There is a nice fan shop by the stadium too and the prices there for shirts and so are very reasonable.

How to get to Setubal from Lisbon.

If you are holidaying in Lisbon and going to watch football in Setubal, then the easiest thing is to take the train. The train station in Setubal is less than 5 minutes walk from the Stadium. And there are trains running every hour between Lisbon and Setubal. The train from Lisbon to Setubal leaves from Campolide station in Lisbon and tickets are under 5€ each way. The train ride takes just under an hour.

This was just a little about watching football in Setubal. I put it down because I found very little info online when I was looking for it myself and with many people wanting to see football games when traveling, I thought someone might find this useful.